Author: Kate Poss

Thanks to my friendship with Judy Lynn, an author, entrepreneur and Coupeville community weaver, we were introduced to her friend, Navajo weaver Sarah Natani, who has traveled the world, and has hosted weaving classes in Coupeville, and at her home near Shiprock NM. While there was no address, we easily found Sarah’s hogan amid her family’s home compound. She was waiting outside her log-sided home with her dog Delilah when we pulled up. Inside, I sat on a blue couch, and Bill on a green chair petting Sarah’s Siamese cat. We listened with appreciation to Sarah’s stories about growing up,…

From friend Lori Barian: For those unfamiliar, eurythmy is a dance form that endeavors to embody and express spoken word and musical tone. A pianist will accompany all three performances. A cellist and violinist will play for the evening performance as well.  We are seeking local support in a couple of areas. If you feel called to help with meals, lodging, irons and ironing boards, promotions, etc., please use this sign-up sheet. My husband Lance and I are joyfully supporting this opportunity. We love eurythmy and are looking forward to seeing each of the performances ourselves. We hope many of you…

Hello friends and family, we’re on our annual road trip to see what we can find out. We left early Sept. 21, driving down to Federal Way to celebrate the birthday of our friend Michelle, a woman of deep wisdom. Sharing our pain of not seeing our daughter Gillian the past two years, Michelle–who has experienced loss in her life–told us: “People who are ‘broken,’ are looked at with pity, or feel that people don’t want to be around them.” Regarding Gilli’s turning away from us she said, “Gilli feels like she’s a disappointment to you and doesn’t want to…

In the 24 hours before I interviewed our Island County commissioner Melanie Bacon, I heard the same heated response from two different people: why do we have to drive 30 mph on Bayview Road? I thought of all the things that concern Island County, such as rising sea level, lack of affordable housing, homelessness, mental health challenges, water quality, improving infrastructure and protecting our natural resources, among others. And wondered, why get kerfuffled about having to drive slower? Yet both people I spoke with had very strong opinions about the speed limit reduction from 40 to 30 mph that went…

It was a fun ride Sept. 1st there and back again on the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry with the Mutiny Bay Brass Band celebrating the WSDOT’s ferry system’s 75th anniversary. The ferry system will be referred to as WSF from here on in this story. Our ferries were originally owned by a private company, Puget Sound Navigation Company, also known as the Black Ball Line. It operated 18 ferries and owned their docks. Its president was Captain Alexander Peabody, who happens to be the great-uncle of our friend and neighbor Betsy O’Neil. Take a look at this HistoryLink site for the background…

Friends like Gretchen and her daughter Teddy mean a lot to me. I flew out for the second time this year to spend four days with them in western Wisconsin. Gretchen has some health challenges and we were both heartened to meet her new primary care doctor who talks common sensically. We hope her suggestions give Gretchen relief from more than six months of extreme discomfort. While staying with this pair of women I feel so at home with, we watched a lot of streaming episodes of The Gilmore Girls. Very well written scripts, and well acted believable characters. We…

While locals have ignited their artistic spark by attending classes at the Create Space Langley classrooms, the building’s old gray facade within the South Whidbey Community Center lacked inspiration. In a moment of what locals refer to as South Island synchronicity, artist Melissa Koch and Create Space co-founders Peggy Taylor and Jackie Amatucci realized the classroom exterior needed to reflect the art within its walls. “I was walking down to set up my art class and thought I’ve got to talk to Jackie and Peggy to do something about this facade that is a dirty gray color,” recalled Koch, who…

When local designer, artist and teacher Melissa Koch received mail regarding protecting butterfly habitat, her creative antenna kicked in, and she envisioned bringing the concept of “A Billion Butterflies” to Whidbey Island. As a long-time advocate of protecting the natural world, Koch proposed a butterfly awareness project centered on art for this fall. “I received a packet in the mail from the Environmental Defense Fund,” said Koch. “I love butterflies. Monarchs are on the endangered species list. Now it’s critical that we protect them. I thought this could be a community engagement project for my teen and tween students, as…

I’ve spent my days since July 2nd wholly giving my love and attention to Barbara MacCallum, a dear friend and down the alley neighbor we’ve known for 26 years. During these extraordinary last weeks I met a team of folks who love Barb, and through our combined collaboration, created a net of support for her time remaining on Earth. Barb passed away peacefully August 15th with her family nearby. Barb is a real friend, as anyone who knows her might tell you. Dozens of comments posted in texts, emails and Facebook all say how they appreciated Barb’s kindness over the…

Randall Haller moved to Whidbey during a challenging time in his life, rediscovered his joi de vivre, and reignited a love once buried. “It’s a funny story,” he said while we sat in the shade at the South Whidbey Community Center on July 30th, waiting for his retirement party to start. “My wife and I were having difficulties, and we divorced. Since my sister lived on the island for 20 years, I wound up staying here. I made a life here.” He worked at Britt’s Pickles at first. Then, he worked for a year at Payless. “Those were first my…